


We're Back, Baby!

by the_sun_is_a_deadly_laser



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Bc Nothing I Do Is Original, M/M, reunion fic!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25604119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_sun_is_a_deadly_laser/pseuds/the_sun_is_a_deadly_laser
Summary: Finally, Watcher (and Buzzfeed, but whatever) is able to meet again in person. Of course, Shane has seen Ryan's longer, much curlier hair. Everybody has. But wow.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 5
Kudos: 180





	We're Back, Baby!

**Author's Note:**

> DID YOU SEE RYAN'S HAIR IN WATER WEEKLY #30 LIKE I HAVE IT PAUSED I GOT SO FUCKING INSPIRED BY RYAN'S 
> 
> CURLY 
> 
> HAIR THAT I HAD TO STOP EVERYTHING AND WRITE THIS AND YES I'M FULLY AWARE THIS IS A DAY LATE
> 
> y'all should read my end note tho

Shane was nervous. He didn't know why. At the final stoplight, before he had to hang a left into Watcher's office space, he was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He, Ryan, and Steven wanted to meet up at the office because they hadn't been there in a while. They were going to social distance, they would all be wearing masks, but it was still... different. They would be seeing each other in person for the first time in almost six months. 

He turned into the parking lot and took the keys out of the ignition. Slipping a mask on, his hands shaking in excitement and anticipation, he opened his car door and stepped out. 

It wasn't sunny, but overcast. Shane was well aware that he was late and the last to arrive. When Ryan had nagged him about it, he had texted back, 

**Shane:** Fashionably late, baby!

 **Ryan:** Ha fucking ha

And that was the extent of that interaction. 

He pranced up the stairs two at a time and opened the door. Peeking his head in, he saw Ryan and Steven a respectful distance away from each other, wearing masks. He stepped into the room and was greeted by his coworkers. 

Shane honestly hated how his eyes went straight to Ryan. He had had a crush on him for the past... well, at least five years, but that didn't stop him from dating and living his life. The Ryan Feelings were always there, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself to let it go, but it was manageable. 

In fact, not having to see Ryan every day was helping him get over his crush. 

Well, that's what he thought before he saw Ryan's eye crinkle and the only thing he wanted at that moment was for Ryan to not be wearing a mask. Shane wanted to see his smile. And he had really, really amazing teeth. That was a weird thought, he knew, but hey- was he wrong? 

After his fleeting wish that he could see Ryan's whole face, his attention went to his best friend's hair. 

Sweet baby Jesus. 

It- wow- it was _so_ curly. 

Sure, he'd seen it over FaceTime and stuff, but in person- it was an entirely different experience.

Shane had really hoped that his feelings for Ryan would have diminished enough to stop him from wanting to touch it, but it really, really didn't. In fact, he really, really wanted to touch it. For a long time. With Ryan's head in his lap, asleep, while Shane watched a movie and played with his hair. 

Yeesh. 

Talk about cheesy, Jesus Christ. 

"He finally decided to show up!" Ryan laughed. 

"Hey," Shane defended himself, "Obi was sleeping on me. I was trapped. I _know_ Steven will back me up." 

"Yeah, I get that," Steven said, making Ryan roll his eyes. 

"Whatever. Now that _Shane decided to show up,_ we can get started." 

Shane frowned. "With what?" 

Ryan shot him a look before looking back at Steven. "I think that everything should stay except Spooky Small Talk." 

"What?" Shane pouted. "I like that!" 

He could tell Ryan was grinning under his mask. "Not forever, just for next season." 

"Did you even read the email?" Steven asked. 

Shane shrugged and leaned against his desk, shooting a fleeting glance at Ryan's hair again. "I was trapped." 

"You-" Ryan cut himself off with a laugh. "You have email on your phone!" 

"Hey, unlike you all the time, I wasn't on my phone!" 

Ryan checked his phone. "Mmm? Sorry, I couldn't hear you over how dumb you sound." 

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you over how condescending you sound," Shane teased. 

"I hope you can both hear me because I have something important to say!" Steven shouted. 

They both looked over at him. 

"What?" Shane snapped, not being serious and they all knew it. 

Steven held out his hands like they were going to tell the story for him. "I have this idea for a show." 

Ryan perked up. "Oh?" 

Shane sat back and settled in for a ride. 

\---

"I think it's a pretty good idea," Ryan said over speakerphone while Shane was making his dinner. "I think it has some serious potential." 

"Do you think that they'll make a movie about us like they did for Smosh?" Shane wandered. Ryan was silent. 

"God, I hope not," he eventually laughed. "We don't need to be remembered for a bad movie." 

"Nope," he agreed, "we need to be remembered by our bad YouTube careers." 

He could hear the frown in Ryan's voice as his friend said, "I think we're pretty good." 

"Yeah," Shane sighed as he dished himself up his pasta, "I think we are, too." 

It was quiet for a moment as Shane poured some dressing over his salad. He said, "Speaking of bad movies, have you seen Mystery Science Theater?" as Ryan said,

"You looked really good today, Shane." 

Shane started coughing as he choked on his water. "I'm sorry," he said hoarsely, "I must've heard you wrong-" 

"What do you think I said?" 

Ryan's voice was calm. Shane, on the other hand, nothing about him, _especially_ his voice, was calm. 

"Uh-" His voice cracked. His voice _cracked._ Clearing his throat, he continued on with the sentence that he was sure Ryan was going to laugh at when he finished. "I thought you just said that I looked good today." 

The laughter that he wasn't sure if he wanted never came. He didn't know what was worse: the laughter that he wasn't getting or the silence that he was receiving. 

"Yeah," he laughed feebly, "I'm pretty sure that's not what you said." 

He could hear Ryan's inhale before the words, "That's what I said." 

Shane's mind was reeling and there was stone-cold panic in his gut that housed a hot feeling that was growing bigger. "Uh, I mean," he stuttered out, "you looked good, too-" 

"No, Shane," Ryan said like he was trying to get Shane's attention, which he 1,000% had, "you looked _good."_

He was lost for words. Ryan continued. 

"Your hair looks _so_ good long. Don't get me wrong, it looked good short, but-"

"What are you doing?" Shane squeaked. He could sense something in Ryan change, even through the phone. 

"Fuck, I'm sorry," he sighed. "It-it's just been a while, you know?" 

Shane was having a bit of a hard time breathing. "Yeah, I get it." 

"And I'm not saying that I wouldn't-" He cut himself off and Shane was internally panicking so badly that he didn't catch on. "I'm sorry." 

He shook his head even though Ryan couldn't see it. "It's _fi_ ne."

Fuck, that was a bad one. 

"I, uh, I'll talk to you later, big guy." 

Shane nodded numbly. "Sounds. Uh, sounds good." 

"I- yeah. Bye." 

"Bye." 

Ryan hung up and Shane stood there, at his counter, his mind reeling as he went over what just happened. And then he laughed into his hand. 

Ryan had _hit_ on him. 

Holy shit. 

Ryan had _hit_ on him. 

Shane leaned back against the counter. "Oh my god." 

His crush of five years, at least, had hit on him and he had asked Ryan what he was fucking doing. He could've run with it, but no. He had to go and fuck it all up. 

But what would've happened if he did? Maybe it would've lead to some sort of confession or phone sex, and Shane was not opposed to either, but after, it would've been awkward. Because he was pretty damn sure that Ryan was straight and Shane would've said something about liking him or just straight up say it, so...

What the fuck? 

They had to talk about it. Shane would never be able to sleep or function normally around him if they didn't. He could only imagine what Ryan was going through because he had been the one to even open this can of worms. 

Absentmindedly, Shane took a bite of his pasta and stared at the floor. And then his face broke out into a dorky grin. It wasn't an ideal situation, but god _damn._

\---

 **Shane:** We should really talk about last night

He bounced his knee as he sat on the edge of his couch, waiting anxiously for a reply. He was there for about fifteen minutes. During those fifteen minutes, he relaxed, turned on the TV, pet Obi, and momentarily forgot about the pressing situation at hand. He forgot he had his phone on silent too, so when he glanced at it again, he realized that Ryan had messaged him almost ten minutes prior. 

**Ryan:** Yeah. 

Whoops. 

**Shane:** Can I call at three? 

That was almost five hours from then. He cursed under his breath. He didn't need that long to psych himself out. 

**Shane:** Nvm like rn?

Ryan's reply came a couple of seconds later. 

**Ryan:** Sure

Before Shane could press call, Ryan was calling him. He took and breath and answered. 

"Hey." 

There was a quick silence. "Hey," Ryan said, like all of his regrets were plaguing him right then and there.

Shane cleared his throat. "So-" 

"I'm sorry about last night," Ryan blurted. "I- I was kinda drunk and-" 

Shane frowned. "No, you weren't." 

"What?" 

Shane leaned back on his couch. "I know you when you're kinda drunk. Ryan, you were _sober."_

He heard Ryan sigh. "You're right," he said heavily. "I wasn't drunk." 

"Or high." 

"Or high," Ryan gave in. "I was completely... fuck. I was sober." 

His hands were sweating. He wiped them on his jeans. "Ryan," his voice was shaky, "are you straight?" 

He was met with dumbfounded silence. He was about to apologize, even though he thought that it was a pretty reasonable question, given the circumstances, when, 

"Nope!" It sounded like he was trying to keep this serious conversation lighthearted. "I'm- I'm bi! I guess. I'm sorry that-" 

"It's okay," Shane said quickly, fighting the smile that was trying to find itself into his words. "I'm-" He was really going to say this. "I'm bi too, so." 

Once again, dumbfounded silence. _"What?"_

He scratched the side of his face. "I, uh- I'm bisexual." 

"Are you _shitting_ me?" 

He pouted. "No." 

"Oh my god," Ryan laughed. "This is _so_ much worse." 

Cold panic washed over him. "What?" 

"Nothing. I'm sorry." He was still laughing to himself. Shane was starting to get a little angry. 

"No, what is it?" 

"It's just," Ryan scoffed, "I _hit_ on you." 

"Yeah, no shit." 

"I'm really sorry." He sounded like he found this absolutely _fucking_ hilarious. "This feels worse." 

"Why?" Shane snapped. 

"Wait, was Erin like- _Aaron?"_

Shane was getting a little tired of this. "Yes. What's your point?" 

"Dude!" 

_"What?"_

"You- holy shit! Everything makes sense now!" 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he asked, "What does?" 

"Well, Steven always- well, like, everybody, _especially_ the internet, always said you had a thing for me!" 

The cold feeling was growing stronger. He couldn't speak.

"And I always said, 'No, he's straight, he doesn't like me,' but you're not straight!" 

"Ryan," he said in a warning, "I'm about to hang up on you." 

"Sorry," Ryan laughed. "Sorry. I mean, I always think you look good." 

"Excuseme?" 

"Like, you're an attractive guy!" 

"What the fuck is happening?" he muttered to himself. 

"Dude, I've thought- I've- _Shane!"_

"Ryan," he said shakily, "I swear to god-" 

"I'm sorry, I'm- I'm freaking the hell out." 

"Yeah," Shane said coldly, feeling offended and hurt, "you are." 

"I've had a thing for you, like, for forever!" 

Now Shane was honestly brain dead. _"What?"_

"I'm sorry if that's weird for you to hear, but-" 

"Ryan." 

"I had to say it, just once, so if we could actually _never_ talk about this whole thing again, that would be great-" 

"Ryan!" 

He heard Ryan sigh. "Yeah?" 

Shane couldn't believe his ears as he heard himself say, "You looked really good yesterday." 

Silence. And then, quietly, "Oh my god." 

"Your hair," Shane continued, "it looks really good. I love your curls. I didn't even know that could happen." 

That's it, Shane was possessed. Ghosts are real. Demons are real. Whatever. He was gone enough at this point to say dumb shit like that. 

Ryan laughed nervously. "Shane, what are you doing?" 

Shane came back to his body for a moment. "I, uh- I like you, too?" 

Pause. 

"Was that a question?" 

Shane knew he was being teased. "I don't think so?" 

"Jesus," Ryan sighed. "Could- could I come over? Are you okay with that? I'm safe, I got tested." 

His brain wasn't just dead, it was jelly. "Yeah, sure." 

"Okay," Ryan squeaked. "I'll be there in twenty."

"Great." 

"Great." 

"Uh, bye?" 

"Yeah. Bye?" 

"Bye." 

"Bye." 

Ryan hung up, again, and Shane was frozen with the phone against his ear. 

"Welp," he said loudly when he was able to move again. "Shit." 

And then he began running around his apartment, tidying things up, until, fifteen minutes later, there was a hesitant knock on the door. Hands shaking, Shane walked over and opened it. 

And there was Ryan, out of breath and flustered. The closest he'd been in months. Before he could really comprehend anything else, he had wrapped Ryan up in his arms. As soon as he hugged Shane back, he was able to let out a breath that he wasn't aware he'd been holding for years. 

A hand started playing with his long hair and he had to smile. Ryan was playing with his hair. Talk about the stuff of daydreams. 

They pulled away and looked at each other. His fingers twitched and he reached up and ran his hand through Ryan's soft curly hair. And damn, it was even better than he imagined it would be. 

"I love your hair," he laughed, "really." 

He met Ryan's eyes and saw something new. Something soft and loving. 

"I like yours, too." 

Pause. 

"Can I kiss you?" 

Shane nodded. "It's about fucking time." 

Ryan laughed. "Yeah, it is." 

\---

He, Steven, and Ryan sat in a room with the cameras rolling. 

"Hello!" Steven said. "We're back! It's not great to be in a room with these two again, and it's even worse now." 

Ryan lifted his hand, bringing Shane's with him, from where they were holding hands under the table. 

"We're back and better than ever." 

Shane smiled and pressed a quick kiss to Ryan's cheek before yelling, "WE'RE BACK, BABY!" 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Does anyone have any prompts for me? I'm bored and have no ideas coming.


End file.
